| Osiris Rising | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Ayi Kwei Armah |
| Cover artist | R. M. Osotsi |
| Country | Senegal |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Per Ankh |
| Publication date | 1995 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 348 |
| ISBN | 2-911928-00-8 |
| OCLC Number | 256475128 |
Osiris Rising: A Novel of Africa Past, Present and Future is a novel written by Ayi Kwei Armah and published in 1995. The story revolves around an African American women, Ast, who goes to Africa looking for heritage after she gets her PHD. The text addresses a number of contemporary African issues, including the residual colonial institutions that limit African culture, the hypocritical nature of African Americans and expatriates who try to help Africa and the contemplation of "What is African history and culture?" The book is published by Per Ankh, a Senagalese publishing company.
Contents |
Many of Osiris Rising's characters appear one-dimensional and ludicrous, almost "puppet-like".[1] Ast, the main character, seems the most credible and developed among the characters, yet even her psychology in the interactions with Seth can become absurd.[2] At best the characters, act as principles representing further exploration of the book's themes.[1] The following are the main characters in the books:
Armah sets the story in a contemporary unnamed West African country. A majority of the story takes place on the campus of Manda's Teachers' College, where Asar and Ast both teach and where many of their agendas come to fruition.
As the title implies, Armah transposes the ancient Egyptian Osiris myth into modern Africa.[3] This first becomes evident when Armah names each chapter using Egyptian words.[3] The main characters closely align with the major movers of the myth: Osiris is identified with the reforming Asar, Isis is portrayed as Asar's companion Ast, and Soya represents Set.[3]
The relationship between Ast and Asar reflects the Pan-African sense of unity uniting both the African American with no ethnic tribe and the native African who clearly identifies with a single village.[4] This represents a similar relationship to that between an Afro-Caribbean man and an African women in Armah's novel Fragments.[4] This relationship, one of love and commitment that works fervently for the emancipation of African thought, helps reinforce Armah's message push for pan-African cooperation.[4]
Armah is also very critical of the character Sheldon Tubman.[4] This character, who was a strong civil rights activist in the state, is portrayed as nothing more than a "Diaspora Hustler" - someone who makes a big deal of returning to the African tradition but instead uses this fake "tradition" to benefit himself.[4] Anne Adams, in her comparison of the two authors' repertoires in "Literary Pan-Africanism", identifies this as a position also strongly expressed by Guadeloupean Maryse Condé.[4]
Osiris Rising has been reviewed by a handful of world literature scholars in institutions that provide a western education:
For individuals using a similar definition of the culture and history of Africa: